Raven-Symone Admits She Was Shocked Disney Invited Her Back After Coming Out

Who says you can’t go home again? Raven-Symoné sure could! The actress stopped in for our HollywoodLife podcast to talk all about returning to Disney Channel — and revealed that it’s a much different place now.

Raven-Symoné isn’t afraid to be herself — she never has been one to hold back her feelings and just because she’s back on the Disney Channel, it doesn’t mean that will change. At 31, she’s returned to her roots to star in Raven’s Home, a spinoff of That’s So Raven, her series that ran from 2003 to 2007. But it’s definitely a whole new show — and Disney Channel is an entirely new channel, something Raven is very proud to be a part of.

“I was surprised they chose me! I was like, ‘I came out, I said all kinds of stuff… look at y’all!’ Thank you Disney for understanding I’m a human,” she told HollywoodLife.com during our podcast. “So, yeah, I was pleasantly surprised, but again, as we grow and as the network grows and as humanity grows, the kids are getting smarter and smarter! You can’t lie to them, you can’t just pull the wool over their eyes anymore. They’re going to find out. So, I give props to Disney for embracing who I am and who the kids are of today.” You can listen to the full podcast for free on iTunes here!

Raven’s now working with kids that are just kicking off their careers — much like she had back in the day. So, what advice would she give them to survive being a child star? Well, therapy.

“[Remember] it’s just a job and try your best to know who you are, at least in your own head for as long as you can. It’s hard to stay yourself in a business that’s about selling a brand that might not be you internally and you have to find a way to juggle that,” she told us. “Therapy helps… and the friendships. Not acquaintances, not like ‘OMG, we’re on the same show, let’s be friends,’ but like ‘Dude, I need you to bail me out bro,’ and then call it a day. Those are hard to find where we live and in the industry we’re in. But, when you find them, and you’ll be okay.”